The invention relates to an insulating profile for a conductor line according to the preamble of claim 1. Such insulating profiles are known, for example, from DE 103 59 541 A1 and from DE 199 17 309 A1. Here, it involves a one-piece extruded plastic profile in which the busbars of a multi-pole conductor line are arranged insulated from each other. The profile is made from a plurality of chambers of which one group is open toward the front side of the profile. In the chambers of this group, the busbars are arranged and accessible from the open front side for the current collector of a vehicle traveling along the conductor line. Two other groups of chambers that are closed in cross section form the rear base of the profile and the insulation between the busbars, respectively.
Conductor lines of this type generally have a total length that makes it necessary to arrange several insulating profiles one after the other at end faces. Here, a mechanically stable connection between the individual insulating profiles of a conductor line must be created, wherein suitable connection elements are used. For engaging such connection elements, a corresponding shaping of the end regions of the insulating profiles is necessary that cannot be performed in the scope of the extrusion, but instead requires later processing, which increases the production expense.
In addition, there is the problem that, at the connection points between the individual insulating profiles of a multi-pole conductor line, the insulating effect is broken. There, the lengths of the air gaps and creep paths between the individual busbars, i.e., the shortest paths between the surfaces of two adjacent busbars through free space or along the surface of the insulating profile, which are specified by the cross-sectional shape along an insulating profile, no longer intersect. Instead, at such a connection point, if additional measures are not taken, the length of the air gap is given by the direct distance of two adjacent busbars and the length of the creep path is given by the shortest path between two adjacent busbars on the end face of the insulating profile. These lengths effective at a connection point are generally significantly shorter than the corresponding lengths along the insulating profile.
The lengths of the air gaps and creep paths are subject to appropriate safety regulations that must be observed under the aspect of product liability, and, indeed, along an entire conductor line, i.e., also at said connection points. This is naturally more difficult to achieve if the total dimensions of a conductor line are to be more compact. One possibility for extending the air gaps and creep paths at the connection points between the individual insulating profiles to safety-regulation values consists in the joining of additional insulating elements in this region in the course of the assembly of the individual insulating profiles. For this purpose, the end regions of the insulating profiles must be prepared for holding said insulating elements, wherein additional expense is incurred in the production of the insulating profiles. This applies especially when later processing of the insulating profiles must be performed on the end faces.
On the front or engagement side of an insulating profile, existing systems create the necessary creep paths through individual webs that project forward and that look similar to horns in cross section. These projecting webs can be easily produced through extrusion because they can be reached from all sides and, therefore, can be easily formed to size during the cooling. In addition, this allows a transverse web lying behind and connecting two such adjacent webs to still be reachable during the cooling, at least on one side for the surrounding medium. They even improve the ability to achieve dimensional stability for such a transverse web, in that a tensile force that prevents contraction can be applied to the transverse web via the projecting webs.
In one section of the conductor line in which current collectors are to be inserted from the outside into the insulating profile, i.e., in the region of a so-called tangential entrance, the webs projecting forward are disruptive because, in practice, in the case of an often unavoidable lateral positional deviation, a current collector can remain hanging on such a projecting web and can even end up on a transverse web connecting two such adjacent webs instead of in a chamber with a busbar. To avoid this result, the cross section of the insulating profile must be designed with a funnel shape in such a region, to always deflect a laterally incorrectly positioned current collector into the closest chamber with a busbar. For this purpose, an additional component must be applied to the front side of the insulating profile between every two chambers, with this component fulfilling the following requirements:                Filling out the cross section from the existing horn shape into a roof-like shape        Rigid connection of the part to be applied to the insulating profile even under temperature fluctuations and deformations        No formation of significant gaps between the applied part and the insulating profile        No disconnection of insulating components and no shortening of creep paths        No collision with current collectors        Continuous transition in the longitudinal direction of the profile from the region of the funnel into the region without this function        
Typically, due to the first requirement and the last two requirements, a hollow profile is not used, but instead, a solid component that is beveled accordingly on its longitudinal ends. This component is then usually bonded because plastic screws or rivets are rarely installed in installation spaces of the type present here and metal screws form short cuts for the creep path, and there would be potential risk in the case of contact with the busbars due to incorrect assembly. Because bonded joints are sensitive, these are usually made at the factory. This produces a high expense in terms of design, information, and logistics because the positions required along a conductor line with the possibility of tangential entrance must be determined in advance, the required lengths in between must be determined, and the material must be allotted accordingly. In addition, it must be avoided that current feed-in devices, expansion connectors, or the like are to be inserted at these positions because these parts usually cannot be provided with a tangential funnel function at all or only at high expense.